


Introducing: The Sauce

by xCabooseRTRvB



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Blood, Brothers In Crime, F/M, Guns, Hurt/Comfort, I forget a lot, Injury, M/M, PTSD, Paranoia, People get shot, Please tell me to tag anything else, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Hatred, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-20 10:50:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11919342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xCabooseRTRvB/pseuds/xCabooseRTRvB
Summary: Not everyone has a smooth start with the Fakes.UPDATED CHAPTER 3 AT 9:35PM PST





	1. Appearance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MerryLittleKittyFairy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerryLittleKittyFairy/gifts).



> This took a VERY different turn from what I was supposed to do with it. I did not mean for this to be chaptered, this was supposed to be a one shot. I'm very happy with how it came out though and this is not canon to any universes I've written before. I apologize in advance!
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was just a normal day at the penthouse until someone stole Ryan's Diet Coke.

_**Saturday, August 19** _

“Okay, I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again: Don’t finish the Diet Coke if you’re not going to restock it,” Ryan said from the kitchen and glared at the living room couch where Michael’s hair peeked out from the top of the couch as the explosives specialist watched TV.

Michael shrugged, “Don’t look at me, I have Red Bull.” He replied and held up the opened can.

“Gavin?” Ryan inquired and turned his head to the Golden Boy who raised a cup of what Ryan assumed to be coffee. Lowering the cup, Gavin went back to typing on his laptop as Ryan sighed. “Jack--”

“I’ll add it to the list for this weekend’s shopping,” Jack responded as Ryan started rummaging through the refrigerator again.

“Thanks, Jack, but I swear there was one more in here.”

“Maybe Jeremy drank it,” Michael said off-handedly as Jeremy walked in.

“I drank what now?”

“Ryan’s Diet Coke,” Michael answered simply.

Jeremy shook his head and suggested, “Not me, ask Geoff.”

Shaking her head, Jack replied, “Geoff’s asleep for once.”

Ryan closed the refrigerator, “That’s good. How did you manage that?”

Jack shrugged and sipped at her coffee, “I didn’t do it.”

“Who did then?” Ryan asked, but no one answered. “Support crew?”

“Maybe,” Jeremy said and pulled his jacket on. “I’m heading over there now.”

“Why are you putting on a jacket?” Gavin asked without looking over at him as Jeremy zipped it up. “You’re just taking the lift down.”

“Do you know how cold it gets downstairs?” Jeremy questioned rhetorically and opened the door. “Anyone wanna come with?”

Grabbing his jacket, Ryan pulled it on and walked over to Jeremy as Michael jumped up and turned off the TV, throwing his empty can away. “I’m bored, let’s go.”

“You have the sound grenade, don’t you?” Jeremy asked.

Michael shrugged with a smile, “Gotta have some fun.”

“Anyone else?” Jeremy looked at the remaining two who shook their heads. “Alright, your loss.”

“Have fun!” Jack said with a smile and walked over to Gavin who called her over for advice on a job.

Leaving and closing the door behind them, the three walked down the hall to the elevator as Jeremy turned around to face Ryan and Michael. “So Support hates us, right?”

Michael shrugged, “Probably.”

“Whatcha goin’ down for anyway, Lil J?” Ryan asked as Jeremy turned around to press the elevator button and the button dinged.

“Gotta talk to a couple of them about an assignment. I need more information on my target. Plus, Matt’s outfitting one of my vehicles for it.” Jeremy answered and stepped into the elevator pressing floor the Support Office was located as Ryan and Michael followed him in and the elevator doors closed.

As the elevator lowered, Michael raised a brow, “Who’s getting bipped?” Michael asked the same time Ryan asked incredulously, “And I wasn’t invited?”

Blinking at both of them, Jeremy smirked, “Con Artist who has been on Trevor’s radar ever since the Stream Team started up and to answer your question Ryan, it’s because Stream Team wants to take him out ourselves.”

“Wow, that long ago. Why haven’t you tried to kill him sooner?” Ryan asked curiously as the elevator doors finally opened up and they all stepped out.

“Haven’t really had the chance to, especially since we didn’t really try to find him unless he popped back up again.” Jeremy started leading them toward the garage where Matt was tinkering with Jeremy’s car. “Hey Matt, how’s the upgrade going?”

Glancing over, Matt smiled and wiped his hands on an orange towel, gesturing to the car. “Hey man, it’s going good. I’m almost done, so you could probably leave at eight or sooner if you wanted to. Telling them about the Con Artist, I hear.” Matt mentioned and went to the driver side to start up the car.

Jeremy nodded, “Yeah, wanna tell them what he did to us?”

“Yeah, sounds like he fucked with you guys,” Michael commented as Ryan inspected the additions to Jeremy’s car.

Matt laughed and turned the engine over, “Trevor was so pissed. So basically, we just started out our own ‘gang’—if you even want to call it that—and our first informant was the Con Artist that seemed to also be an amateur like us. Turns out he was already a master at being a con artist and gave us false information that nearly killed us. Engine sounds fine,” Matt commented to himself and switched off the car before continuing. “It sucked though because we kept trying to tell Trevor that he was bad news, but he was hopeful that the Con Artist wouldn’t betray us and look what happened. Trevor made it his life goal to track him down and murder him himself.”

“All three of you are going?” Ryan asked and stopped at the trunk of the car, placing his hands on it and leaning a little.

“Fresh paint job, Ryan,” Matt said without looking as Ryan cursed under his breath and removed his hands from the car, muttering how the paint ruined his favorite pair of gloves. “And yeah, we are. We want payback for that motherfucker nearly getting the three of us killed.”

“You sure you guys don’t want back up?” Michael asked as worry was etched into his features. “Sounds like he’s really dangerous. He could’ve honed his skills.”

“Stream Team’s got this,” Jeremy said confidently as Ryan sighed.

“How did you even convince my brother to join you two? He was becoming an engineer!”

Matt shrugged, “To be fair, he already has the degree in aerospace engineering, so he’s a legit rocket scientist already.”

Phone vibrating, Jeremy pulled it out and read the text message, “Speaking of Trevor, he wants to meet up with us like right now. That’s weird, he wants Michael and Ryan to come too.” Ryan narrowed his eyes and went over to Jeremy to read the text. Ryan started walking over to Trevor’s office as the others glanced at each other but quickly decided to follow.

“Something wrong, Ryan?” Michael asked curiously.

“Yeah, Trevor and I created special messages that we could embed into our texts so that it looks normal to anyone else. It was to protect our conversations from hackers or if one of us was physically in trouble, it would immediately alert the other.” Ryan explained and pulled his mask on.

“Well, what’s it tell you?” Matt inquired as Ryan turned around briefly to look at the other three and they all stopped several meters away from the door.

Ryan released a breath, “He’s being held at gunpoint.” Pulling out a pistol and cocking it to make sure there was a round in the chamber, Ryan slowly approached the door and crouched next to the closed door as the other three readied their own weapons and positioned themselves to cover every angle of the door when it opens. Counting down, Ryan opened the door and aimed his gun at the only person in the room who was standing in front of the desk and had his hand over a handgun on the desk, leaning over it. “Zed?” Ryan called.

“Not Zed,” Matt raised his gun and placed his finger over the trigger, but hesitated when the handgun was swiftly aimed at them and the person turned around with a smile.

“You,” Jeremy spat venomously.

“Hello, boys! How are you doing?” The Con Artist asked.

“Where’s Zed?” Jeremy questioned.

The Con Artist’s smiled slipped and sighed, “Getting right to the point then. I was just having a lovely chat with your boss.” He sidestepped to reveal Trevor strapped to his chair as the Con Artist moved to aim his gun right at Trevor. “Wasn’t it lovely, Trevor?”

“Fuck you,” Trevor spat with annoyance as the Con Artist moved his finger over the trigger and walked behind Trevor so the four couldn’t get a clear shot at him.

“Do you want to die?” The Con Artist asked flatly.

“Four against one, who says you’ll win?” Ryan inquired and narrowed his eyes at the Con Artist who shook his gun in the direction of Trevor and looked at Ryan.

“I infiltrated your building, slipped past hundreds of security cameras, knocked out a few of your own men, and strapped up your leader to have a simple conversation. You think I can’t take on four people with guns?” The Con Artist answered and sighed turning back to Trevor who kept his eyes trained on his friends. “So, tell me where Geoff is or you die.”

“How do you know our names?” Michael asked with a frown.

The Con Artist smiled and looked at Michael, “I live for information, Michael, names are the easiest part of a profile. You have five seconds.”

“I’ll slaughter you in three,” Ryan remarked angrily as the Con Artist laughed.

“Your brother might not be the only one dead tonight, Ryan. And yes, I know that. Took me three seconds of scrounging through your profile.” The Con Artist looked down at Trevor, “Last chance.”

“Two words: Fuck. You.” Trevor said firmly.

The Con Artist frowned and shrugged, “Your loss.” He said as Trevor shook his head because he knew exactly what Ryan was thinking of doing. “Say goodbye then.” The Con Artist fired the gun.

It clicked.

Frowning, Trevor turned to look down the barrel of the gun, “What?” He asked, just as confused as the others.

“You’re a real motherfucker.”

Everyone turned around and found Geoff with his arms crossed and leaning on the door frame as the Kingpin sighed and shook his head. “Geoff?” Jeremy called in confusion, then looked back at Trevor and the Con Artist who looked back at them with a smile. “What’s going on here?”

Geoff sighed once again and uncrossed his arms, walking into the room. “Ryan, Michael, Jeremy, Matt, and Trevor, meet the Sauce AKA Alfredo.” Geoff walked up next to Alfredo and placed a hand on his shoulder as the others nearly flinched at the act. “He’s been an informant of mine for a while before the Stream Team ever became a thing.“ Geoff pointedly looked at Jeremy, Matt, and Trevor. “The only people who knew that he was a Fake were Jack, Lindsay, and I. We kept it that way so that you wouldn’t be afraid to shoot at him if we ever had to go against him. Alfredo was tasked to infiltrate one of our long time rival gangs and keep an eye on them, feed them false information, and make them believe that he was on their side. Now that you’re back, I’m assuming you have all the information we need to take down that gang?”

Alfredo nodded, “Yup, planning shouldn’t take more than a week.”

“That’s good to hear,” Geoff said nonchalantly as the others just stared at them, dumbfounded.

“Trevor nearly died!” Ryan shouted, “Twice!”

“Okay, first off, I made sure they didn’t die; I was covering their escape from afar. Secondly, my gun isn’t loaded. Thirdly, I wasn’t planning on killing him.” Alfredo reasoned and skillfully pulled apart his gun, dropping it onto Trevor’s desk. “I gave you guys false information, yes, but I had to or else they would’ve caught onto me.”

“I’m going to slit your throat, get me out of these!” Trevor replied in annoyance and wriggled around in his chair, attempting to get free.

“You have a knife in your hands right now, why do you need my help?” Alfredo asked pointedly.

“Because once you’re close to me, I’ll be able to stab you with it!” Trevor responded and cut himself free, immediately jumping up and going to tackle Alfredo onto the ground, but Geoff quickly got in between the two. “He nearly killed us!”

“Look, man, I get that you're angry, but I was doing my job, you know how that’s like,” Alfredo said calmly and raised his hands in defense as Trevor scowled at him.

“Your job was getting me killed?!” Trevor shouted.

“Sorry man, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m going to stitch your mouth together,” Trevor threatened earnestly.

Geoff shook his head, “You don’t like him, that’s fine, but I say that he stays. He’s not going to kill any of us or betray us. If I hear any of you attempting to kill Alfredo, you’ll have to hear from me. Do you understand?”

Trevor released himself from Geoff’s grip and said through grit teeth, “Fine.” Pushing past Geoff and Alfredo, Trevor stormed out of his office as Jeremy sighed and holstered his handgun.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Jeremy said and hurried to catch up to Trevor.

“You could’ve told us, Geoff,” Ryan said with clear annoyance.

“Telling anyone other than people who needed to know could’ve compromised him,” Geoff argued reasonably.

Ryan shook his head, “ _We_ were people who needed to know. Most importantly, Trevor is the leader now, he should’ve known the moment he got promoted.” With that, he walked out and left the same direction Jeremy and Trevor walked away.

Geoff sighed, “Why don’t they get it?”

“I think you’re the one who’s not getting it, Geoff,” Matt replied and was the next one to leave without another word.

Michael sighed, “Geoff, they’re just frustrated. Their lives were on the line and the fact that Alfredo just stormed into our base and threatened Trevor’s life was not cool in any way.”

Alfredo shook his head, “That’s my fault, I thought that since I was coming back and that Trevor was now the leader, I could show him how skilled I was. I was showing off and that just made them hate me. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Alfredo. Ryan’s right, I should’ve told them.” Geoff insisted.

“Hey, mistakes happen, just apologize, but give them a couple of weeks. They’ll get used to having you around. By the way, welcome to the Fakes.” Michael said and offered his hand.

Alfredo shook the other’s hand, “Thanks, but really, I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing to me, I’m not the one you should be apologizing to. They’ll come around eventually. But hey, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the Fakes and make you feel right at home.” Michael offered as Alfredo smiled.

“Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll give them some space before I show my face here again. I’ll send you the information, Geoff, and if you need me, just call me.” With that, Alfredo left as Geoff sighed dramatically and facepalmed.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Michael patted him on the shoulder, “It’s alright, you didn’t know.”

“That doesn’t give me an excuse to lie to you guys.”

“You didn’t lie to us, you just withheld information from us. You had a legitimate reason for doing so. Don’t worry, they’ll all come around.”

“What if they never get along?” Geoff asked worriedly.

“See, you’re doing the Geoff thing,” Michael said.

“The Geoff thing?”

“The one where you worry so much that you get paranoid. Everything’s fine, Geoff. They’ll come around.” Michael insisted calmly. “Give them a few days.”

Geoff sighed, “You’re right…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay to be fair, there is no one else that has joined AH that I've liked so fast than Alfredo. Idk why, but he's quickly becoming one of my favorites (TREVOR WILL FOREVER BE MY FAVE THOUGH) and he fits so well with them that it almost seems like he's been working with them forever. Plus, he can help them git gud at Siege. Anyway, I really like him and I hope he likes being in AH!
> 
> ALSO ANGST IS APPARENTLY THE ONLY THING I CAN WRITE, MY HANDS SAY "NO, HAPPINESS DOES NOT EXIST FOR THESE CHARACTERS" AS I CRY WRITING MY STORIES.
> 
> Oh and fun fact: Only Support (not even Jeremy) knew that Trevor dyed his hair because he hadn't left his office in the last several weeks and only saw people when it was necessary. That's why Ryan asked if it was Trevor standing in front of the desk. IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE THEY LOOK ALIKE HAHAAHAHA.... Ima stop now.


	2. Ignorance is Not Bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfredo has communications problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lovely Dawn AKA MerryLittleKittyFairy helped me with Geoff's email domain and I laughed way too hard a thing it.

**Lazer**

**Sunday, August 20 8:52 AM**

Lazer: Hey Alfredo, I just wanted to check on you.  
Lazer: You know, remind you that I still need that information on your job.  
Lazer: Anyway, this is Lazer, send me an email or some shit, I don’t know.  
Lazer: iownacitybitch@gmail.com

**Lazer**

**Sunday, August 20 6:38 PM**

Lazer: Thanks for sending that email, but I need to talk to you.  
Lazer: Face to face preferably… It’s important.  
Lazer: Meet me at Burger Shot on San Andreas Avenue 11:30 AM tomorrow.

**Lazer**

**Monday, August 21 12:41 PM**

Lazer: Are you coming?

**Lazer**

**1:34 PM**

Lazer: Hey Alfredo?  
Lazer: I got you the usual.

**Lazer**

**2:56 PM**

Lazer: Are you at work?  
Lazer: If you are, do you need help?  
Lazer: You’re not in trouble, right?

**Lazer**

**3:20 PM**

Lazer: Did they find you?  
Lazer: Come on man, answer me, I don’t want to find out you're dead.  
Lazer: Your silence is really worrying me, right now.

**Lazer**

**3:59 PM**

Lazer: Will yelling over the phone help?  
Lazer: ALFREDO?  
Lazer: YOU THERE, BUDDY?  
Lazer: I’m really worried, man.  
Lazer: Call me, or something.

**Lazer**

**4:15 PM**

Lazer: Are you just giving me the silent treatment?  
Lazer: Did I do something wrong?  
Lazer: I’m sorry if I did something wrong.  
Lazer: It’s because the guys got mad at you, isn’t it?  
Lazer: Look, Alfredo, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen.  
Lazer: I’m sorry, I’m such a shitty boss.  
Lazer: Please don’t block me out because of this.

Alfredo: not giving u silent treatment  
Alfredo: u did nothing wrong  
Alfredo: busy  
Alfredo: talk to u ASAP

Lazer: Okay…

Alfredo: not blocking you  
Alfredo: promise

Lazer: You’ll tell me soon?

Alfredo: promise Lazer

Lazer: Okay.

**Lazer**

**Tuesday, August 22 3:37 PM**

Lazer: Hey Alfredo, just checking up on you.  
Lazer: You good?  
Lazer: Maybe I should wait a couple of days?

**Lazer**

**Wednesday, August 23 7:02 AM**

Lazer: I hope what you’re doing isn’t going to get you killed.

**Lazer**

**7:18 AM**

Lazer: I’ll wait a couple days.

**1 (346) 438-1865**

**Friday, August 25 11:46 PM**

1 (346) 438-1865: stole this number from geoff  
1 (346) 438-1865: idgaf if ur on a job  
1 (346) 438-1865: u better fucking tell him whats wrong  
1 (346) 438-1865: he’s been beating himself up abt it the whole week  
1 (346) 438-1865: idk if u give a shit  
1 (346) 438-1865: but i do  
1 (346) 438-1865: he hasnt slept  
1 (346) 438-1865: he barely eats  
1 (346) 438-1865: he keeps staring at his phone like itll do smthg  
1 (346) 438-1865: hes not talking to anyone  
1 (346) 438-1865: he hasnt finished the book he was so fuckin excited to get  
1 (346) 438-1865: he couldve finished that book in less than a day  
1 (346) 438-1865: he got it a couple days ago  
1 (346) 438-1865: fuckin talk to him  
1 (346) 438-1865: tell him or ill find u  
1 (346) 438-1865: and drag ur ass back here  
1 (346) 438-1865: and ur gonna tell geoff  
1 (346) 438-1865: /then/ ill kill u  
1 (346) 438-1865: bc u dont do this to my family  
1 (346) 438-1865: if u keep this charade up geoff’ll blow a gasket  
1 (346) 438-1865: ik ur mad at yourself for what u did  
1 (346) 438-1865: idgaf  
1 (346) 438-1865: it was excusable at first  
1 (346) 438-1865: now its not  
1 (346) 438-1865: u crossed a dangerous line  
1 (346) 438-1865: i gave u a warning  
1 (346) 438-1865: dont fuck w my family

**1 (346) 438-1865**

**12:03 AM**

1 (346) 438-1865: its michael btw

_1 (346) 438-1865 is now saved to Contacts as Mogar_

Sighing, Alfredo placed his phone on the nightstand and leaned back on the headboard of his bed, staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. Why was this bothering him so much? He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. Honestly, he didn’t know how to respond to any of the texts, but he couldn’t let Geoff worry about him. He couldn’t let Geoff beat himself up about it because it wasn’t his fault. It was completely Alfredo’s fault and he couldn’t figure out why he felt like he betrayed them.

Groaning, Alfredo facepalmed and rubbed the dryness out of his eyes. Much like Geoff, Alfredo couldn’t shut his eyes to sleep because his mind just kept replaying the scene over and over again. He wasn’t sure anymore what version was the absolute version and couldn’t even remember who he had threatened. Sleep deprivation may have something to do with it, but Alfredo couldn’t will his mind to stop moving. He didn’t want to be reminded that he had literally threatened his own’s lives.

“Damnit…” He muttered to himself and shoved his laptop off his lap, leaving the opened email alone. He honestly was busy with work, but it wasn’t so much so that he couldn’t take two seconds to explain to Geoff like he had promised to. “I’m such an idiot,” Alfredo said and stood up, going to the small kitchen in his apartment and opening his refrigerator that only contained water bottles. He grabbed one and twisted it open, taking a couple of big gulps before removing it from his mouth and letting go of a breath. Alfredo couldn’t bring himself to explain to Geoff why he was struggling so much, he felt like he was overreacting to a simple thing. There was no way they were going to forgive him anyway. He fucked up.

_Knock Knock_

Eyes immediately darting for the door, Alfredo stared at it for a while because he knew that no one knew he was there. Listening carefully, he heard the creak of floorboards and shuffling on the other side of the door. They were pretty loud for attempting to ambush him. Luckily his lights weren’t on. Picking up his silenced sidearm from the counter, Alfredo stepped into the bedroom in search of his rifle in case he couldn’t get out on pistol alone. Finding his silenced Carbine Rifle and pulling the strap over himself so he wouldn’t have to carry it, Alfredo closed his laptop and flipped it over, shooting at it until it stopped sparking. He picked up his wallet and any papers that may identify who he was and put the documents on top of the laptop as another knock sounded. Adding his clothes to the pile and everything else he couldn’t risk carrying, Alfredo pulled out a packet of matches and lit several, throwing them onto the pile and scanning the entire apartment for anything else that could tell them anything about him. He even went to the lengths of lighting more matches in other areas and suddenly stopped, slowly turning his head to look at the stove and clenched his jaw. Should he risk it?

_Knock Knock_

Quickly, Alfredo switched the stove on and hurried over to the window leading to the fire escape, opening it and looking down. Surely, they covered each entrance, right? Not if he went up. He looked up and sighed in relief when he realized he didn’t have to climb so many stairs to get there. He climbed out the window.

_Bang Bang_

“We know you’re in there, Diaz.”

That made Alfredo freeze and his eyes widened in fear.

“From the smoke, I could smell, I’m guessing you’re trying to hide your trail. Guess what? We already know who you are and that you work for the Fakes.”

Slowly climbing back into the room, Alfredo stared at the door.

“Surprised?”

“What do you want?” Alfredo slowly started for the door.

“What you gave them: information. How ‘bout it?”

“What makes you think I would betray them? What makes you think I’m even with them?”

“Oh Alfredo, don’t toy with us. We don’t need evidence. Now come with us and we’ll have a civilized conversation.”

“Civilized?” Alfredo questioned knowingly.

The other chuckled darkly, “Yes, we’ll make sure you’re comfortable.”

“I highly doubt that.” Alfredo replied, “I could shoot you right now, what’s stopping me from doing so?”

“I have eyes on their little penthouse. One word from me and they’ll take one shot at anyone of their choosing.”

“You’re bluffing, you have no idea where they are.”

They chuckled again and Alfredo could practically see the wicked smile on their face. “Do you really want to test me?”

Opening the door, Alfredo holstered his gun, “Fine.”

They smiled widely, “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Alfredo knew he hated that smile for a reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This man does not deserve this, I am so sorry Alfredo.


	3. Weaknesses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael will do everything in his power to get Geoff to smile again. Meanwhile, Alfredo has a "civilized" conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this escalated quickly and this is not okay. First fic of Alfredo and I'm already like "HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND". I really need to step away from the angst.

_**Sunday, August 27** _

“Maybe I should call him,” Geoff said for the fifth time that day from the couch in the living room and continued to stare at his phone as Jack sighed.

“He’s been like this all week. Who’s he trying to call?” Jack asked as Ryan shrugged and walked down the hallway toward his room.

“Dunno, but he really can’t decide. Must be important.” Gavin commented and sipped at his coffee.

“Michael,” Jeremy said with a frown.

Michael groaned and pulled out his phone, “I need to call someone.” He walked away and dialed Alfredo’s number, but the operator said the number didn’t exist. He dialed it again and got the same message. Immediately, his brain concluded to the worst case scenario. Turning to Lindsay who was watching the sulking Geoff, Michael spoke firmly, “Lindsay, I need your help.”

Looking over, Lindsay nodded and smiled, “What do you need?”

“Search and rescue, who’s best for that?” Michael asked curiously as Jack raised a brow.

“Michael, what’re you doing?”

“Getting Geoff back to normal,” Michael answered and ushered Lindsay to tell him the information he needed.

“Fast, undetected, or no mercy?” Lindsay asked.

“No mercy,” Michael answered without a beat.

“Ryan, for sure, he’s merciless, bring Lil J for quick head popping, Matt for an easy escape or if you want him to bring a heavily armored car to bring the ruckus, and Trevor if you want the brothers to really do some damage. Plus, you’re going to need Trevor’s lock picking skills. I doubt you’re going to get Trevor away from his desk though. Ashley can overlook the mission and make sure the cops aren’t after you guys. Neal could supply you with some weapons and equipment so you don’t have to make a stop at an Ammunation. Kent could be back up. Too bad Larry’s busy, he would’ve had fun with this.” Lindsay explained fully and smiled.

Gavin pouted, “Aw, you guys are going to have fun while I’m stuck here for a job?”

Michael smirked, “Trust me, Gav, you don’t want to participate in this.”

“Why’s that?”

Michael only shook his head and turned to Jack, “Watch him, will ya?” He said as Jack nodded.

“Of course.”

Turning to Lindsay and Jeremy, Michael nodded, “Alright, Jeremy, you get Ryan because there is no way in hell he’ll agree if it comes from me.” Jeremy nodded and hurried over to Ryan’s room. “Lindsay, you tell Matt and inform Ashley of what we’re doing. I’ve got Trevor and depending on how long it takes to convince him, I’ll talk to Neal too. I don’t think we’ll need Kent for this.” The two jogged for the elevator and pressed the button.

“What exactly _is_ happening?” Lindsay asked.

“All you need to do is shoot people that shoot at us. Depending on what condition he’s in when we find him, we’ll need someone on medical standby.” Michael replied.

Lindsay nodded, “I’ll talk to Steffie too then. Who are we rescuing?”

Clenching his jaw, Michael decided internally whether or not he should tell her and sighed, “We’re rescuing the Sauce.” They stepped into the elevator.

“Alfredo?” Lindsay asked worriedly, “Why? Did something happen to him? Wait, how do you even know about him? Only me, Geoff, Jack, and… Is that who Geoff’s been worried about?” Michael nodded. “What happened? I thought he was still on assignment. Is he compromised?”

“Now? Probably, but he was done with his job a week ago. He came back and pulled a stunt that he probably shouldn’t have. Alfredo blames himself and left. Geoff got worried and tried contacting him, but Alfredo wouldn’t answer. Geoff just wanted an explanation, Alfredo wasn’t providing one so I had to take initiative and texted him. He never answered. Now I know why. That motherfucker is making it really hard to like him.”

“You think they found out?” Lindsay asked with concern as they stepped off the elevator.

“Yeah,” Michael said, “I just hope we make it in time.”

“We will, Michael,” Lindsay said and they departed ways as Michael left for Trevor’s office and Lindsay started for the garage.

Walking up to the door, Michael knocked on it loudly and shouted, “Listen up, asshole, we need to talk!”

The door opened as a very tired Trevor flinched from the light seeping into his dark office, “What the fuck do you want? I have work to do.”

“Fuck your work, you have more important matters to attend to,” Michael said and shoved past Trevor who protested, but didn’t necessarily stop him from entering.

Switching on the lights, Trevor slowly trudged over to his desk and sat down, “What important matters?” Approaching the desk, Michael slammed his hands down on the desk and leaned forward as Trevor jumped at the loud sound. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” He shouted angrily.

“You’re coming with me to save him,” Michael stated firmly. It wasn’t a request, it was a demand.

“Save who?”

“Alfredo,” Michael answered and straightened up so he wasn’t looming over Trevor.

Immediately, Trevor stood and pointed at the door, “Get the _fuck_ out! That son of a bitch nearly got us all killed because of his reckless behavior and we don’t need someone like him in our gang. Whatever fucking hole he dug himself in, he can get out of. I’m not doing shit to save him. You have no right to tell me what to do. Get out.”

Michael removed his hands from the desk and asked, “Do you know Geoff’s situation right now?”

Almost instantly, Trevor’s tense body loosened and he leaned back in his chair, massaging his forehead. “Yes, Jack told me.”

“It’s because of Alfredo. Alfredo blames himself for your hatred for him.”

“I don’t hate him,” Trevor said quickly.

“Then give him a chance.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“He lied.”

“So what?” Michael questioned in confusion. “We’re criminals! We lie all the time. What makes Alfredo different?”

“How many times do I have to repeat this: he nearly got us killed,” Trevor argued.

“He was saving you guys from ultimate doom! You would’ve died without his help!”

“He threatened our lives a week ago!” Trevor reasoned and stood up to be eye level with Michael.

“He was trying to show you how good he was! To _impress_ you!” Michael responded.

Trevor scoffed, “Well, he did a really shitty job of doing so.”

“Fine,” Michael said and backed off, “You don’t have to help, but remember this: He’s a Fake, no matter what you think. He was hired by Geoff and he’s considered a Fake. _When_ he survives from the wrath of the hands of the very people he was trying to keep away from us, you’ll see that we did the right thing because we _help_ our own, even if we don’t particularly like them. You didn’t even give him a chance to prove himself. You shut him out, just like how Alfredo shut Geoff out. Fine, stay here for all I care.” Michael said and turned around to leave, but stopped when Trevor spoke up.

“You’re a persuasive fuck, Michael Jones.”

Michael turned and smiled, “Hell yeah, I am. Let’s go.”

«~•~»

_Huff… huff… huff… huff…_

_WHACK_

_Huff… huff… huff…_

_WHACK_

_Huff… huff… huff…_

“That’s enough.” The leader stepped forward and crouched in front of Alfredo who was strapped to a metallic chair as the leader’s henchman backed off. “Say you’re sorry, Alfredo, and I’ll let him make it easier on you.”

The informant spat blood onto the floor before lifting his head and weakly saying, “Fuck. You.” He lowered his head. It hurt too much to move.

He frowned and stood up, “Maybe we should turn it up a notch.” The leader looked pointedly at his henchman who walked over to the console next to the chair. “It’s been two days, Alfredo, I’m surprised you’ve even lasted this long. I’ll give you five minutes to tell me what I want to know or else you’ll be… in for a shock.”

“I’m not saying shit,” Alfredo stated firmly and took deep breaths. “Kill me for all I care.”

“That would make them happy, wouldn’t it?” The leader said and paused for a couple of seconds before continuing, “‘Hey Alfredo, I just wanted to check on you.’” Swiftly lifting his head to stare at the leader with wide eyes, Alfredo didn’t care that his whole body ached. How the fuck did he have access to those texts? “‘You know, remind you that I still need that information on your job.’ ‘Anyway, this is Lazer, send me an email or some shit, I don’t know.’ Do any of these texts ring any bells to you, Diaz?”

“How?” Alfredo huffed out.

“Technology is an easy access into people’s lives, you think I knew your name just by looking at you? Tell me who they are and how many there are or else I’ll kill you or one of them.” The leader threatened and smiled wickedly. That _fucking_ smile. “That’s right, I know you, Fakes, have a weakness and that weakness is using each other against you. You care too much about family—about each other—that it’s too good of an opportunity to pass up every time! So Alfredo… what’ll it be?”

“The information… you’ll use it to kill them anyway.” Alfredo reasoned.

He chuckled, “Oh, you know me too well. Too bad, you were a very good informant. You could’ve been on the winning side.”

“He is.” A gun cocked and was put to the back of the leader’s head. It was the henchman.

“You dare betray me?!” The leader roared. “Do you see what I could do? I could ruin you!”

The ‘henchman’ shrugged, “Meh, you could’ve, but you won’t. Not anymore.” He shot the gun as the lifeless body fell to the ground and blood splattered onto Alfredo. “Sorry about that, but he was starting to get annoying.”

Alfredo frowned, “Who…?” He couldn't finish the sentence.

“Larry,” he smiled and took off the restraints that were practically keeping Alfredo up because the informant fell forward when the strap was released. Quickly, Larry caught him and helped him lean on the back of the chair, “Careful, we don’t want you dying on us.”

“Fake?” Alfredo asked weakly, still alert if this person decided to kill him too.

Larry nodded and freed Alfredo’s legs, “The Kingpin is a paranoid fuck.”

Alfredo chuckled and closed his eyes, “Yeah, he is.” He released a breath he didn’t know he was holding and felt relief wash over him, but at the same time, the adrenaline was quickly leaving his body because he could feel his body starting to ache.

“Reinforcements are on the way. Stay awake alright?” Larry said and stood up.

“Easy for you to say… You have a mean right hook.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I couldn’t hold back with him watching so closely.”

“You didn’t kill me… that’s a win…” Alfredo’s speech was starting to slur together as Larry was starting to get worried he’d faint before he got him to Steffie.

Larry lightly shook him, “C’mon Alfredo, don’t fall asleep. That’s probably the worse thing you could do right now. Alfredo! Stay awake!”

_”Alfredo!”_

Sleep sounded good.

«~•~»

_**Sunday, September 3** _

Light peered in through the window as Alfredo slowly opened his eyes—or… attempted to open his eyes. Shifting on what he assumed was a bed, Alfredo raised the arm that wasn’t in a cast and reached for his face. “I’d rather not.” Nearly jumping, Alfredo groaned at the sudden movement and settled when they continued to speak. “Sorry! Fuck didn’t mean to scare you but don’t touch your face, it’s still healing. You also probably can’t talk for a while either. Steffie bandaged your face so that it’ll heal properly. You’re probably staying in bed too. Sucks, I know, but she knows best, she learned from the best after all. Oh, and it’s Michael, probably should’ve said that first.”

Alfredo stayed silent.

“Told ya,” Someone else said with a foreign accent, he couldn’t pinpoint the accent with just those two words. Alfredo assumed it was Gavin.

“Shut up, Gavin,” Michael remarked. “You couldn’t have done better.”

“Yeah, but it would’ve been helpful for him to wake up to someone he knew. For example, Geoff or Jack or Lindsay even!”

“They’re all busy.” Michael dismissed. “Plus, Alfredo knows me.”

“Whatever, I’m going to go call Steffie now.” Footsteps receded from the room as Alfredo shifted again.

Michael sighed, “Does anything hurt?” Alfredo shook his head. “That’s good. Ache?” Alfredo nodded. “Yeah, I thought so, but you’re fine. You’ll be able to see and talk in no time.”

There was a knock and Alfredo nearly jumped again. “Shit, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Can I come in?” There was a long pause because Alfredo couldn’t place the voice.

“It’s Matt,” Michael supplied as Alfredo had to rack his brain for the Fakes that he’s heard of and nodded when he finally did. “Whatcha need, Matt?”

“You proved to me, at least, that you’re one of us and thanks for risking your life to protect us,” Matt said as Alfredo wanted to frown because did that mean one of them still didn’t like him? “Do you want to tal—erm… do you want them to come in?” Alfredo nodded and heard the shuffle of multiple footsteps. “Oh, and sorry for trying to kill you.” Alfredo would’ve smiled if it didn’t hurt. Did he have pain killers? Maybe that’s why he didn’t hurt too much.

“Nope! Out!” A new voice alerted him. “Get out, he needs some more rest. Talk to him when he can at least talk back! Shoo!”

“Steffie ruined the moment.” Someone said.

“Shut up and get out!” Steffie said as Alfredo heard the door close. “Ready?” Alfredo nodded, she was the doctor he guessed.

He welcomed sleep once again.

«~•~»

_**Thursday, September 7** _

“Letter?”

“Do you realize how ridiculous this feels right now? I feel like I’m in kindergarten.” Alfredo protested as Steffie laughed and held up the card.

“I’m just making sure your vision is okay,” Steffie reasoned, but Alfredo already knew that.

He sighed, “I know. K.” He answered.

Steffie smiled and put down the cards, “Good, that’s it for today and your speech is okay. No stutter or pain or complete loss. Your vision is perfect. You’re good to go, but keep your arm in the sling, please. It’ll heal faster.”

“I can leave the room now?” Alfredo asked hopefully.

Steffie nodded, “I better not see you back here though, I’ll strap you to the bed if I have to.” Steffie’s smile fell, “I’m joking, I didn’t mean to say that. Sorry…”

Alfredo smiled, “It’s okay, I’m fine. I didn’t flinch or wince or anything. I’m fine.”

“PTSD stays, y’know,” Steffie said as Alfredo nodded.

“I know, but one step at a time, right?”

“Right,” Steffie replied, “Speaking of one step.” She gestured toward the door as Alfredo nodded and slowly stood, walking over to the door and stopping at the threshold.

Taking a deep breath, Alfredo stepped over the threshold and turned to find the rest of the Fakes standing there with huge smiles on their faces. “Well, that’s not a sight you see every day.” They all laughed.

Taking a couple steps forward but keeping his distance, Trevor gave a small smile, “I’ll admit, I was wrong about you. You were protecting us and my anger toward you was clouding my judgment. Sorry about that, but thanks for saving our asses.”

Alfredo smiled, “Anytime.”

Trevor offered his hand, “Welcome to the Fake AH Crew, Alfredo Diaz.” Looking down at the hand, Alfredo shook it with his free hand and looked at the rest of the Fakes as both Steffie and Trevor gently—as to not startle him—patted him on the back to usher him forward.

Rough start, but the Fakes were always going to be his family and he wouldn’t betray them for anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaaand, there's the end. It wasn't what I wanted it to be, but if someone wants to fill in scenes or something, go ahead. Idk, but you'll definitely do a lot better than I ever could.
> 
> And once again, welcome Alfredo to the RT/AH/LP family!


End file.
